A few weeks back, during the school holidays, I was trying to think of something fun to do with the kids. They’d been at Vacation Care for the day while I’d been working, and I wanted to pick them up and treat them to something a little bit different {and really, I wanted to get out of the house, off my computer and spend quality time with them}. I’m a huge fan of Amazing Race and Survivor, so I wanted it to be something physical and more engaging than going to get ice creams with them, so I created a little Kids Amazing Race game. It took me about 15 minutes to pull together, and about 1.5 hours for them to do. It was one of the best {but also easiest things} we’ve done. Here’s how we did it, and how you can do it yourself.
What you need:
+ envelopes
+ a pen
+ little cards
+ a little imagination
+ extra things if you decide to do the same challenges as us {see below}
We used my car to get from place to place. You could absolutely do it all in the one place, or just at home if you didn’t want to go out.
CLUE ONE: I picked up the girls from Vacation Care and game them their first envelope and a little bag holding two spoons and two golf balls. The first clue said: “You must walk around the park one time WITHOUT dropping the ball {if you drop it you must start again}. Once you have completed the task you will receive your next clue.
This was actually their favourite task, and next time I would add more things like this. If you’ve ever seen A Minute To Win It on Netflix, they have so many brilliant, affordable ideas. Some times as simple as stacking 6 full soft drink cans on top of each other and having them stay for 30 seconds.
CLUE TWO: It took a while and a whole lot of laughing on their end, but they go through the first task and I handed them their next envelope. The task was to find a netball hidden inside the house. They found it quickly, working as a team, and were handed their next clue.
CLUE THREE: The card said, “Direct your driver {me!} on how to get to the netball courts. Tell her every turn, and don’t get lost!” This was a good one for working on their left and rights, and remembering directions. We got there!
CLUE FOUR: This one, I thought was SUPER simple. Lacey had to score six goals on the taller goals, and Lulu had to score six on the smaller goals. I realised that we’d never done shooting with Lulu before and after 30 minutes of trying, we altered the rules so that she only needed one goal. We got there!
CLUE FIVE: We gave them a Japanese coin and asked them to tell us where the coin was from and what food they ate in that country. They guessed right, so I drove them to sushi!
CLUE SIX: At sushi they had to eat one plate of sushi and successfully use chopsticks to get their next clue.
CLUE SEVEN: After they had finished their afternoon snack, I gave them a word puzzle. With my girls being such different ages, I aimed this one at Lulu. She had to unjumble the letters to create a word {book!} and get her next clue.
CLUE EIGHT: Now, next time I’d probably take them to the library and get them to borrow a book and self checkout, but there’s the cutest little bookstore in Kingscliff that I love and try to support often because bookstores are magic, so this part was a real treat. The girls had 10 minutes to choose a book that would love to read. Shane sat outside with a stopwatch, and they totally smashed it. Nice to see them decisive in a store!
CLUE NINE: There was no challenge in the next clue, it was for them to ask their driver {me!} to take them to the next location, which happened to be a nearby park.
CLUE TEN: As we arrived to the park, I gave them their next clue which included a checklist. They needed to find: something straight, something textured, a rock and two different types of leaves {no taking them off trees}. After they had completed their checklist, they got their next clue!
CLUE ELEVEN: Their next clue challenged them to either hang upside down for thirty seconds, OR slide down a slide backwards. Lacey went for hanging upside down, Lulu opted for the slide. After completing the tasks, they got their next clue.
CLUE TWELVE: I gave the girls a container of coins, and told them that they hand to find the year they were born. Once they had both found it, they got their next clue.
CLUE THIRTEEN: This was a congratulations on finishing! Now they needed to use the coins and order themselves a cup of gelato. I also gave them a card telling them how much I loved them and sharing something that they’d achieved recently that I was proud of {really great reports, and being really improved at school}. They love the cards and put them up in their rooms when we got home.
And that’s it! We arrived home for baths, a light dinner and time to chill out. They loved it, and I think it’s something I’d do every school holidays.
Coming up with challenge ideas is the hardest part, so I thought I’d list a few for you:
+ Get the kids to go to the library, use their library cards, and borrow a book {if you have older kids, step the challenge up and get them to borrow a book by a specific author or on a particular topic
+ Get the kids to stack 6 full soft drink cans on top of each other and have them stay for 15-30 seconds
+ Have the kids place an Oreo {or cookie/biscuit} on their eye, and without using their hands they need to get it to their mouth, and eat it
+ Give the kids three inflated balloons and they have to keep them up in the air for a minute
+ Fill a plastic cup with Skittles or Jelly Beans and also have another empty cup a few metres away. The kids have to put a spoon in their mouth and transfer the lollies from one cup to the other without using their hands {their spoon must be in their mouth the whole time}.
I’ll add more as we try them out! Let me know if you have any suggestions!
